City gets dredging funding

‘Emergency’ funding allocated by DNR, to be used in city’s marina

MANISTIQUE – The city of Manistique has been allocated $194,400 in emergency dredging funds from the Department of Natural Resources. The funds will be distributed once the Emergency Dredging Plan, which identified 49 harbors in the state needing immediate attention, is approved by the Michigan Legislature.

The plan is based on the results of a survey by the DNR and developed by the DNR, Michigan State Waterways Commission, the Department of Environmental Equality, and the Office of the Great Lakes. Some of the funding will be siphoned from the Michigan Waterways Fund.

“The city has been allocated $194,400 for emergency dredging in our facility meaning other than the navigational channel which is the (U.S.) Army Corps (of Engineers),” explained City Manager Sheila Aldrich. “We would use it to dredge inside our marina and area by the city’s new broadside docking.”

Despite the pending status of the funding, the cities selected are expected to have everything in place to begin the projects once funding is implemented. According to Aldrich, Manistique has already begun discussions with the city’s engineer, Coleman Engineering, and applies for a dredge permit from the DEQ and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The city, intends to run the project locally, said Aldrich, and will likely deposit the dredged material in the local landfill, unless testing is done and the sediment must be placed elsewhere. The funding for the project will cover engineering, permits, and dredging costs. Dredging will be completed at a “recreation depth”, according to the plan, not “commercial depth”.